How does one learn how to think like an economist without understanding what economists do? Using outside readings can be an effective and straightforward pedagogical tool to teach economic concepts and to expose students to the wide range of topics and methods economists use in their research. Improving students' understanding of what economists…

Peer instruction (PI) involves interaction between students and provides opportunities for students to reveal their own ideas, articulate their thinking, and facilitate construction of their knowledge with social interaction. Since the classroom environment of PI provides a rich information for students to discuss scientific phenomena, this…

Formative assessment has long been identified as a critical element to teaching for conceptual development in science. It is therefore important for university instructors to have an arsenal of formative assessment tools at their disposal which enable them to effectively uncover and diagnose all students' thinking, not just the most vocal or…

Traditional methods for teaching the Lewis dot structure model emphasize rule-based learning and often neglect the purpose and function of the model. Thus, many students are unable to extend their understanding of molecular structures in new contexts. The assignment described here addresses this issue by asking students to read and write about the…

Flipped classrooms and inquiry-based learning (IBL) have each become popular in their own right, leading to a natural question: Why not combine these two great ideas? Although flipping a class usually involves students reading or watching videos before class, and IBL focuses on allowing and encouraging students to develop material on their own,…

This study explored the relationship between task values, engagement, and conceptual change. One hundred and sixty-six under graduate students were randomly assigned to one of three task value instructional inductions (utility, attainment, and control) to determine whether induced task values would result in different degrees of engagement and…